Date:         Tue, 5 Sep 2000 09:54:41 -1000
Reply-To:     Mick Kalber <hotlava@INTERPAC.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mick Kalber <hotlava@INTERPAC.NET>
Subject:      Re: 89 syncro westy ac fixed (correctly this time)
In-Reply-To:  <cc.9abf050.26e64a43@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

>>>Wow, I knew the Volkswagen Engineers were great, but they actually
modified the laws of physics so that a VW A/C unit works differently than
all other cars.  Impressive.<<<

>>>Was this guy carrying a light saber?  Sounds like he was trying to use
the
Jedi mind trick on you :)<<<

OK, OK, I get it... they guy was covering his a*s.  Nevertheless, I now know
where NOT to take my bus for any kind of service and, with any luck, the ac
will continue to work.  She has the right amount of R-12 now (3 pounds) and
is very cold.

Live and learn, eh?

Mick Kalber
89 Syncro Westy "Daddy-O"
Tropical Visions Video, Inc.
62 Halaulani Place    Hilo, Hawaii  96720
ph. 808-935-5557    fax 808-935-0066
hotlava@interpac.net
www.volcanoscapes.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
Of Heath Vogt
Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2000 3:08 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: 89 syncro westy ac fixed (correctly this time)


Wow, I knew the Volkswagen Engineers were great, but they actually modified
the laws of physics so that a VW A/C unit works differently than all other
cars.  Impressive.

Don't be fooled by a temp reading of 42.  First I wouldn't trust a bulb
thermometer or even a cheap digital to more than 10 degrees and the volume
of air at 42 degrees is also very important.  Sorry if I'm sounding
skeptical, but I just went through this with my Toyota dealer on a waranty
job.  They took my truck into their air condidtioned service bay, ran the
a/c on recuirculate, and got a temp reading of 45, they claimed nothing was
wrong with it.  After pissing and moaning, explaining to them the principles
of heat transfer (boy, the crappy explainations they'll try to pawn off on a
person are rediculous, not to mention against the laws of physics), and
telling them I wanted to measure a new truck side by side with my own, they
found a bad blower motor and a leaking compressor fitting.

Hope your problem stays fixed.

Heath


In a message dated Mon, 4 Sep 2000  8:45:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Mick
Kalber <hotlava@INTERPAC.NET> writes:

<<
Anyway, it finally got fixed right.  Seems, according to my tech, that vw ac
units are charged a bit differently than other cars.  My guy said usually
the refrigerant is added to the high side and then run awhile and the high
and low sides adjust to the right levels... but in vw's something else has
to happen to the low side after the refrigerant is added to the high.  I
don't know what he was talking about, but perhaps John or David here can
elucidate us further.  Maybe this is just a shop out in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean that didn't know about the difference between VW ac and other
cars, but it might be nice if the list members know what needs to happen so
they can see if the shop they use knows what the h*ll they're doing.

Anyway, the ac is REALLY cold now... they measured it at 42 degrees which
sounded awfully low to me, but who's to complain?  Gets plenty hot here...
we can use it.

BTW, thanks to everybody who helped me out on this problem.  List is great!

Mick Kalber
89 Syncro Westy "Daddy-O"
Tropical Visions Video, Inc.
62 Halaulani Place    Hilo, Hawaii  96720
ph. 808-935-5557    fax 808-935-0066
hotlava@interpac.net
www.volcanoscapes.com


-----Original Message-----
From: John [mailto:johnpatt@warwick.net]
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2000 9:22 PM
To: Mick Kalber
Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: R12 Overharging is NOT a solution!


Hi Mick,

Something just occurred to me about your situation. If the evaporator
was restricted (not blocked or perforated)like a crimp in the evaporator
"tailpipe" or outlet, the following might occur:

1) The high side would NEVER be high because the compressor could not
get the necessary R12 vapor quantity due to the blockage.

2) The low side would NEVER be low because the vacuum of the compressor
could never act fully on the refrigerant vapor due to the blockage.

3) "Massive" amounts of refrigerant may be needed to counter the
evaporator blockage and get any cool down performance.

Think about this Mick and talk with your technician (if you haven't
choked him yet). I may have just thought myself out of a trip to
Hawaii....................

Regards,   John
 >>